Secrets from 'The Bachelor: Jason & Molly's Wedding'
 ABC |
"The Bachelor"'s Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney [now Mesnick] got married in a lavish ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 27 in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. The event will be televised on Monday night for fans of the ABC dating series to see -- but first, ET talks to the happy couple to get the inside scoop on their big day.
"I was thinking about this earlier -- and it is too bad you guys won't get to see this -- but literally, a minute before Molly walked out, [my son] Ty tackled me and I had this huge moment with Ty. It was all emotional, and then I took him to his seat. Then Molly came out and I started crying all over again," Jason tells ET.
There is an old saying that rain on your wedding day is a lucky omen. Let's hope so, because it poured the afternoon that "The Bachelor" couple took their vows.
"I loved every minute of the rain," Molly tells ET. "It started to rain in the middle of the ceremony, right when I was starting to say our vows. We looked at each other and laughed. It made the day far more special than it ever could have been."
The wedding party included Molly's sister, Katie, as her maid of honor, and four additional bridesmaids. On Jason's side, his brothers -- Larry and Sean -- stood up for him as his best men with two additional groomsmen rounding out the wedding party.
The bride was stunning in a $45,000, strapless gown by Monique Lhuillier, which added a fairytale element to the wedding. So how did Molly know when she had the perfect dress?
"I met with [Monique] and tried on a bunch of different styles, but I knew I wanted that mermaid-style dress, something more form-fitting on the top," Molly tells ET. "I needed to try other styles just to get a feel, but once we put on the style that I thought I wanted, we both looked at each other and said, 'Yes, this is the one.' I felt good in it. She thought I looked wonderful in it, but we custom-made a few more design elements to the dress."
The bride walked down the aisle as former "American Idol" contestant Jason Castro serenaded the wedding party and guests with the version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" he had performed on the singing contest.
"I always knew when I walked down the aisle, I did not want to walk to the typical wedding march song," Molly explains. "I wanted something more modern. Jason and I both loved the rendition of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' that Jason Castro sings. It was an easy choice to see if he would do this favor for us. He was phenomenal."
Jason and Molly are the first couple from "The Bachelor" franchise to tie the knot. Trista and Ryan Sutter were from "The Bachelorette" -- and among the invited guests for Jason and Molly's wedding. So why does "The Bachelor" couple think that they made it when so many others have failed?
"Honestly, I think a lot of it was that we stayed away from Hollywood and went right back to our normal lives," Molly says. "I went right back to work, and Jason went right back to work. We focused on being a normal couple. It wasn't about keeping our face out there. He has Ty, and we wanted to integrate each other into our normal lives. That helped us stay strong."
In addition to Trista and Ryan, the guest list included Jillian Harris and Ed Swiderski, Charlie O'Connell and Sarah Brice, DeAnna Pappas, Kiptyn Locke, Jesse Csincsak, and Natalie Getz, Stephanie Hogan and Nikki Kaapke, all bachelorettes from Jason's edition of "The Bachelor."
Now that the wedding is behind them, Jason and Molly will be taking a two-week honeymoon in South Africa, where they will enjoy both the beaches and a safari to see the animals.
"A friend asked me just yesterday, 'Is it any different being a Mrs.?" Molly says. "Going into the wedding, I didn't think life would be different because we already lived together. I was so wrong. I am the happiest I have ever been. I look at Jason differently. He makes me feel differently. Married life is the best feeling in the world and I wish it for everyone."
"The Bachelor: Jason and Molly's Wedding" airs Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC.
